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Fawlty Towers - Basil the Rat
Fawlty Towers - Basil the Rat is a UK VHS release by BBC Enterprises Ltd on 1st October 1984, and 7th June 1993, and then it got re-released in 17th October 1994, and then re-released again in 12th October 1998 by BBC Video. Episodes * Communication Problems * The Anniversary * Basil the Rat Description 1984 Release Can it really have been as long ago as 1975 when those tears of laughter first started to course down the nation's faces? When people first took to raising their eyebrows and saying 'Que?' to one another? That historic year saw the beginning of BBCtv's unforgettable Fawlty Towers comedies - even now, try mentioning Barcelona without someone sniggering. The catchphrases endure and the quality of the humour remains unsurpassed. This tape offers three of the best episodes from life at the hotel that doubles as an asylum. 1994 Release John Cleese based his immortal character, Basil Fawlty, on a genuine West-Country hotelier. What an inspiration that real proprietor proved to be, sparking off the most unremittingly funny TV comedy series ever shown. And here is Basil at his maniacal best in 3 cripplingly comical shows, now digitally remastered, with the loveable dense dence Manuel, the unflappable Polly and Basil's 'little nest of vipers' - his wife Sybil... 1998 Release In an exclusive interview for this collection, John Cleese talks about the creation of one of the funniest British comedies ever shown. Every aspect of Fawlty Towers is discussed openly and wryly, from the inspiration, the actors and the injuries... And, John Cleese provides the background to each of these three hilarious classics featuring the unforgettable Basil, loveable dense Manuel, the unflappable Polly and Basil's "little nest of vipers" - his wife Sybil... Episode Details 1984 and 1994 Release 1998 Release Cast Members Here are the main and guest cast in all three episodes on this Fawlty Towers video. Main cast in all three episodes on this video *John Cleese as Basil Fawlty. *Prunella Scales as Sybil Fawlty. *Andrew Sachs as Manuel. *Connie Booth as Polly. Guest Stars in "Communication Problems" *Joan Sanderson as Mrs Richards. *Ballard Berkeley as Major Gowen. *Brian Hall as Terry. *Gilly Flower as Miss Tibbs. *Renee Roberts as Miss Gatsby. *Robert Lankesheer as Mr Thurston. *Johnny Shannon as Mr Firkins. *Bill Bradley as Mr Mackintosh. *George Lee as Mr Kerr. *Mervyn Pascoe as Mr Yardley. Guest Stars in "The Anniversary" *Ken Campbell as Roger. *Una Stubbs as Alice. *Robert Arnold as Arthur. *Pat Keen as Virginia. *Roger Hume as Reg. *Denyse Alexander as Kitty. *Christine Shaw as Audrey. *Ballard Berkeley as Major Gowen. *Gilly Flower as Miss Tibbs. *Renee Roberts as Miss Gatsby. *Brian Hall as Terry. Guest Stars in "Basil the Rat" *John Quarmby as Mr Carnegie. *Ballard Berkeley as Major Gowen. *Brian Hall as Terry. *Gilly Flower as Miss Tibbs. *Renee Roberts as Miss Gatsby. *David Neville as Ronald. *Sabina Franklyn as Quentina. *James Taylor as Mr Taylor. *Melody Lang as Mrs Taylor. *Stuart Sherwin as the Guest. Compilation Credits Earlier releases of this Fawlty Towers video would feature the compilation credits with the cast and production people's names in all three episodes on the video ("Communication Problems", "The Anniversary" and "Basil the Rat") combined together in one full credit roll at the end of the last episode on the video. *Cast: John Cleese as Basil Fawlty, Prunella Scales as Sybil Fawlty, Andrew Sachs as Manuel, Connie Booth as Polly, Joan Sanderson as Mrs Richards, John Quarmby as Mr Carnegie, Ken Campbell as Roger, Una Stubbs as Alice, Pat Keen as Virginia, Brian Hall as Terry. Ballard Berkeley as Major Gowan, David Neville as Ronald, Denys Alexander as Kitty. Roger Hume as Reg, Gilly Flower as Miss Tibbs, Renee Roberts as Miss Gatsby. Robert Arnold as Arthur, Christine Shaw as Audrey, Sabina Franklyn as Quentina. Stuart Sherwin as the Hotel Guest, James Taylor as Mr Taylor, Melody Lang as Mrs Taylor. Mervyn Pascoe as Mr Yardley, Robert Lankesheer as Mr Thurston, Johnny Shannon as Mr Firkins, Bill Bradley as Mr Mackintosh and George Lee as Mr Kerr. *Music by Dennis Wilson. *Costume by Caroline Maxwell. *Make-up by Pam Meager and Suzan Broad. *Film Cameraman: Paul Wheeler. *Film Sound by Bill Chesneau. *Film Editor: Susan Imrie. *Studio Lighting by Ron Bristow. *Studio Sound by Mike Jones. *Videotape Editor: Howard Dell. *Vision Mixer: Bill Morton. *Production Team: John Kilby, Penny Thompson and Iain McLean. *Design by Nigel Curzon. *Produced by Douglas Argent. *Directed by Bob Spiers. Episode Credits Later releases of this Fawlty Towers video would feature the TV broadcasted opening and closing credits at the start and end of each episode on the video. 'Communication Problems' *Written by John Cleese and Connie Booth. *Starring John Cleese as Basil Fawlty, Prunella Scales as Sybil Fawlty, Andrew Sachs as Manuel, Connie Booth as Polly, Joan Sanderson as Mrs Richards, Ballard Berkeley as Major Gowen, Brian Hall as Terry, Gilly Flower as Miss Gibbs, Renee Roberts as Miss Gatsby, Robert Lankesheer as Mr Thurston, Johnny Shannon as Mr Firkins, Bill Bradley as Mr Mackintosh, George Lee as Mr Kerr and Mervyn Pascoe as Mr Yardley. *Music by Dennis Wilson. *Costume by Caroline Maxwell. *Make-Up by Suzan Broad. *Lighting by Ron Bristow. *Sound by Mike Jones. *Videotape Editor: Howard Dell. *Production Assistant: John Kilby. *Designed by Nigel Curzon. *Produced by Douglas Argent. *Directed by Bob Spiers. *© BBC 1979. 'The Anniversary' *Written by John Cleese and Connie Booth. *Starring John Cleese as Basil, Prunella Scales as Sybil Fawlty, Andrew Sachs as Manuel, Connie Booth as Polly, Ken Campbell as Roger, Una Stubbs as Alice, Robert Arnold as Arthur Pat Keen as Virginia, Roger Hume as Reg, Denyse Alexander as Kitty, Christine Shaw as Audrey, Ballard Berkeley as Major Gowen, Gilly Flower as Miss Tibbs, Renee Roberts as Miss Gatsby and Brian Hall as Terry. *Music by Dennis Wilson. *Costume by Caroline Maxwell. *Make-Up by Suzan Broad. *Film Cameraman: Paul Wheeler. *Film Sound by Bill Chesneau. *Film Editing by Susan Imrie. *Studio Lighting by Ron Bristow. *Studio Sound by Mike Jones. *Videotape Editor: Howard Dell. *Vision Mixer: Bill Merton. *Production Team: John Kilby, Penny Thompson and Iain McLean. *Designed by Nigel Curzon. *Produced by Douglas Argent. *Directed by Bob Spiers. *© BBC 1979. 'Basil the Rat' *Written by John Cleese and Connie Booth. *Starring John Cleese as Basil Fawlty, Prunella Scales as Sybil Fawlty, Andrew Sachs as Manuel, Connie Booth as Polly, John Quarmby as Mr Carnegie, Ballard Berkeley as Major Gowen, Brian Hall as Terry, Gilly Flower as Miss Tibbs, Renee Roberts as Miss Gatsby, David Neville as Ronald, Sabina Franklyn as Quentina, James Taylor as Mr Taylor, Melody Lang as Mrs Taylor and Stuart Sherwin as the Guest. *Music by Dennis Wilson. *Costume by Caroline Maxwell. *Make-Up by Pam Meager. *Film Cameraman: Paul Wheeler. *Film Sound by Bill Chesneau. *Film Editing by Susan Imrie. *Studio Lighting by Ron Bristow. *Studio Sound by Mike Jones. *Videotape Editor: Howard Dell. *Vision Mixer: Bill Morton. *Production Team: John Kilby, Penny Thompson and Iain McLean. *Designed by Nigel Curzon. *Produced by Douglas Argent. *Directed by Bob Spiers. *© BBC 1979. Trailers and info 1993 Re-release A slide showing three comedy titles that are also available on BBC Video which are 1. "Are You Being Served? - Big Brother", 2. "The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin 1" and 3. "It Ain't Half Hot Mum - The Jungle Patrol". 1994 Re-release A slide of three Comedy titles that are also available from BBC Video which are "1: Only Fools and Horses - Chain Gang", "2: Dad's Army - My British Buddy" and "3: Yes Minister - Open Government". 1998 Re-release * The BBC Comedy promo from 1998 with clips from "One Foot in the Grave", "Dad's Army", "Last of the Summer Wine", "Only Fools and Horses" and "Fawlty Towers" which are available on video. * Another BBC Comedy promo with "Dad's Army - Is There Honey Still For Tea?", "Only Fools and Horses - Rodney Come Home (VHS)" and "Comedy Greats - Ronnie Barker". * A slide showing BBC comedy audio cassettes and the Only Fools and Horses book. Gallery Fawlty Towers - Basil the Rat (1984, 1993).jpg Fawlty Towers - Basil the Rat (1984, 1994).jpg Category:1980's VHS Releases Category:BBC Video Star ident from 1980 to 1988 Category:Fawlty Towers Category:Comedy Videos by BBC Category:VHS Category:UK VHS/DVD Releases Category:1993 VHS Releases Category:1994 VHS Releases Category:BBC ident from 1991 to 1997 Category:BBC ident from 1997 to 2009 Category:BBC Video with National Captioning (1993-1994) Category:VHS videos with BBC Comedy trailer from 1998 with PG (announced by Jonathan Kydd) Category:BBFC PG Category:VHS Videos with Closed Captioning Category:1998 VHS Releases Category:VHS Videos with Five Mr. Bean Videos trailer from 1994 (announced by Derek Hobson) Category:VHS Videos with The Unpredictable Michael Barrymore Live trailer (announced by Derek Hobson) Category:VHS Videos with Lenny Henry: Live and Loud trailer Category:VHS Videos with The Video Collection comedy trailer from 1993 Category:VHS videos with BBC Video Slides Category:VHS Videos with The VCI autumn family collection from 1998 (announced by John Sachs)